


The Whats and Wherefores

by Koah



Series: RWBY: Providence AU [2]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe, Gen, world building
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-10
Updated: 2018-02-19
Packaged: 2018-05-25 19:35:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 2,899
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6207733
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Koah/pseuds/Koah
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of histories and vignettes detailing the state of Remnant, past and present.</p><p>Updated sporadically.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Empire of Vale and the Grand Dissolution

On the surface, the setting of Providence is similar to Remnant: Major countries and cities are in the same locations, the same organizations exist between the two worlds, and the threat of the Grimm is still present. At the same time there are fundamental differences, not least of which is the history of the continent of Vale. More specifically, the namesake kingdom's imperial unification and eventual separation, an event which has come to be known as "The Grand Dissolution."

Centuries ago, in the face of the impending encroachment of the Grimm, the ruler of Vale recognized the need for solidarity in an ongoing time of crisis. Assembling leaders and representatives from the surrounding countries, he proposed a unification of the kingdoms lead by the ruler of Vale. Knowing that war would weaken them, disputes would be mediated without resorting to military force, freeing their armies to defend against the Grimm. Furthermore, unfettered trade and logistics would better enable the nations to prepare against and respond to external threats. Realizing they faced annihilation, they agreed, and thus was formed the Empire of Vale.

Recognizing the wisdom behind Vale's actions, or perhaps hoping to consolidate power for themselves, three other nations - Vacuo, Atlas, and Mistral - orchestrated similar unification plans. While Vale was the only empire whose ruler was elected from one of the noblemen by his or her peers, they were similar in most other aspects.

In the decades following, scholars established houses of learning dedicated to the research and study of the Grimm. They shared what they had discovered with each other and the kings and rulers above them. The rulers in turn passed this on to their armies, who developed methods to combat them: Smaller, more capable units tied not to a nation but an organization without borders, capable of responding more quickly to threats and with the freedom to travel between nations without restriction. From this the first Huntsmen Academies arose.

Over time technology advanced, ushering in an age of industry. Humanity, once endangered, finally had the means to go on the offensive against the Grimm, beginning an era of expansion. Philosophers and thinkers rose to prominence, bringing with them new ideas about liberalism, nationalism, democracy, rule of law, and the rights of people. The nations of the world began to chafe under imperial rule, believing themselves now capable of fending for their own, but power remained centralized.

One day the Huntsmen scholars came to a terrifying revelation: The Grimm were no mere beasts. They were intelligent, and drawn to the suffering of man. Though some considered this information of the uptmost importance, the heads of the research wings of the Huntsmen academies saw it as a danger to the peace and stability of the realms and ordered that the information be kept strictly to the Huntsmen. A futile gesture; within weeks the news leaked out and spread like wildfire through the empires.

From this chaos rose The Unity, a dogmatic movement seeking escape from the threat of the Grimm. Believing that the root of suffering was the differences between people - culture, social status, race - members of The Unity sought to erase them by any means possible. Once removed, humanity would be united, fear and suffering would end, and the Grimm would no longer threaten them. Many nations cracked down on The Unity, but only succeeded in forcing it underground, where it spread quietly, infiltrating positions in government, military, and civil society.

Events came to a head with the election and coronation of Sigmund the Mad - then known as Sigmund II - as emperor of Vale. A Unity sympathizer, he collaborated with Unity-aligned military leaders and, when the time was right, declared war on Vale's member states, ordering the destruction of their cultural heritage above all else. The nations rallied their forces in defense, and while they were distracted, hundreds of Unity cells rose up throughout the empire, burning museums and libraries and toppling statues in pursuit of their grand plan. Called the "Nights of Fire" by historians, countless works of art and literature were lost before The Unity was stopped.

(As a historical aside, the term "uncultured" - a faunus slur for humans - has its origins in the Nights of Fire.)

Following the Nights of Fire, the Vale empire quickly dissolved into its member states, having lost faith in the authority of the empire. The kingdom of Vale itself suffered a coup d'etat, where Sigmund II was purportedly killed while resisting arrest for his crimes. The commander of Vale's armed forces ruled as chancellor as a parliament was established, and five years later peacefully relinquished his position as a show of faith in both the people and the new government. The three other empires, seeing the direction the political climate was taking and not wanting to risk civil war in their realms, gave up power and allowed their member states to separate peacefully.

Thus The Grand Dissolution came to pass. An era of peace enforced by crown authority gave way to one kept through trade and diplomacy. Nations ruled themselves, rather than each other, and of the empire that was its own downfall, the Huntsmen Academies were all that remained.


	2. Alarianism

Alarianism (possessive form: Alarian) is one of the dominant religions of Remnant, dating back approximately 3,000 years. As revealed by the prophet Ohrma Alari, Alarianism teaches a dualistic world view, that the entirety of existence is a struggle between the nameless creator deity and the supreme evil known as Horon. 

In Alarianism, the Grimm are considered to be the work of Horon, and a physical sign of his active presence in the universe:

_"When the heavens and Remnant were created, their glory shone so brightly that Horon could not bear witness to them. In his anger, he created a darkened mirror by which to dim the light and see creation, and in his jealousy he copied what he saw; but as the image was darkened and distorted, so too were his works."_

Spiritually, the conflict manifests as truth and order versus falsehood and chaos, and physically as good deeds versus evil ones. Thus, active participation in life through good deeds is necessary to keep evil at bay.

The main texts of the religion are the Kitab, detailing the creation myths and the teachings of Ohrma Alari. Alarianism as a faith is unified, with no major theological divisions but a few minor ones. Worship is centered around temples, with an organized priesthood.

Despite the name, Ohrma Alari is merely held in a position of reverence, with the sole focus of Alarian worship kept upon the creator deity. He is regarded as a teacher and divinely inspired, but not divine in and of himself. The emphasis of the creator deity over himself was reinforced by an event shortly after his death, when a temple was built in his name. Behind the altar a statue of Ohrma Alari was erected, but no sooner was the temple completed than a storm appeared overhead. Lightning struck the temple, and the statue shattered; the rest of the structure was unharmed. His students and followers took that as a sign, and to this day, portraying him remains a strict taboo.

(One branch of Alarianism, popularized by extremist factions of faunus approximately sixty years prior to the present, states that Orhma Alari was a faunus and that the taboo on visual depictions of him was established centuries after his death, in an attempt to erase faunus from history. To that end, statues and portraits of Orhma Alari as a faunus are erected in pertinent temples. Needless to say, such views are considered heretical by the orthodoxy.)

Using his name in vain is a non-issue, however, as seen by the prevalence of the exclamations of "Alari" or "Alari above," roughly analogous to "Jesus" and "Jesus Christ," respectively.


	3. The Black Iron Prison, Farrow's Nailgun, and Samuel's Pistols

Farrow's exoskeleton (referred to hereafter as "the Black Iron Prison") is a custom-designed powered frame based on leaked and subsequently open-sourced prototype designs and programming, built to support the weight of armor and equipment as well as allow for enhanced speed and strength. When worn it connects to her limbs and around her torso and back, with a storage mode that folds the arms to the rear when not needed. Built into the underside of the left arm is a heavy, segmented, single-edged blade akin to a machete on a track, allowing it to be deployed with a flick of the wrist. On the outside of the right arm is a collapsible shield composed of hexagonal plates, designed to resist both small arms fire and claws while still leaving both hands free to fire one's weapon.

The Black Iron Prison is not merely a work in progress, but was designed keeping future upgrades in mind. The cabling is rated for power far exceeding the values it currently carries, there is significant space for expansion surrounding the motors, and there are numerous points on the frame suitable for mounting armor plating or storage pouches. Despite being unfinished it is still entirely functional, granting additional mobility to the wearer and possessing enough weight and durability to make Highlander burials a viable combat tactic (look them up, they're awesome).

 

\-----

 

Farrow's nailgun is a weapon of her own design, loosely inspired by similar construction tools. Pneumatically-powered, it fires sharpened metal spikes from a (very large) magazine, designed to utilize compressed gas cylinders and masonry nails in its function because of how common and unregulated they are. It's roughly analogous to a battle rifle in effectiveness and, as a quirk of its component materials, is not legally classified as a firearm, (intentionally) bypassing several laws.

The nails themselves are quite a bit longer than battle rifle rounds (e.g. the 7.7x52mm Tress), which means that they don't tumble like some bullets would once they hit flesh. Rather, they go _through_ softer targets and end up getting lodged midway in larger, denser ones, like Grimm. For Grimm, having metal spikes buried in their bodies is debilitating, quite painful, very prone to causing lethal degrees of internal hemorrhaging and organ damage, and not really considered a downside to the weapon.

A planned future feature of the weapon is an overpressure mode which would give rounds more power and velocity at the cost of limiting it to semi-automatic fire. Said rounds would have a longer effective range and be able to penetrate cover more effectively.

("Rifle" and "nailgun" are also used interchangeably in the narrative even though the weapon doesn't have a rifled barrel because fuck you.)

 

\-----

 

Samuel's pistols are both Jutton South Industries (JSI) PS-77 semi-automatic handguns. While the PS-77 normally uses the .357 Vertrud round, he carries the 10mm variant designed to use the standardized (and far more common outside of Jutton) fifteen-round pistol magazine and 10mm round. Anyone with knowledge of firearms from our world would notice that the PS-77 bears a striking resemblance to the CZ 75B.

Of all the firearms manufactured by JSI, only pistols and revolvers are exported; everything else is made exclusively for domestic military use. While expensive outside of the country and seen as collector's items by gun enthusiasts, those that carry them for personal use find them to be remarkably reliable and durable. One of the perks of a nationalized defense industry that doesn't know the meaning of the term "lowest bidder."

The reason Samuel carries two pistols (and sometimes a revolver) is partly because of his father's advice ("If you can carry one weapon, you can carry two") and partly because it's just good sense: Having two weapons means that you always have a backup in case something happens to the first, you can give one of them to someone who doesn't have one, and if you're reloading the first one and something happens you can draw the second and shoot the problem (this would be called a "New York reload" except New York doesn't exist in the setting). He doesn't dual wield pistols as a matter of habit. Rather, he usually does it when he's in a secure position and needs to dump ammunition in something's general direction.


	4. The Grimm and Combined Arms

The Grimm and Combined Arms

 

Debate continues on the classification of Grimm. There are two views on the matter: The first classifies Grimm as a seventh taxonomical kingdom - Ananima - while the second classifies them as Ananizoa, a sub-kingdom of Animalia.

The name "Grimm" only came into use as a proper noun during the late medieval period of Remnant. Prior to that the uncapitalized "grimm" was used, derived from the Low Mistralian "gressim," which in turn was based upon the Proto-Mistralian kenning "gulluch-greys-simm," or "soul like a pot during famine."

("Simm" is a complex term to translate, tied as it is to the Mistralian belief systems, but for these purposes a loose translation of "soul" gets the idea across.)

 

\-----

 

The combined arm is a term used for weapon whose function incorporates two or more roles, usually both ranged and proximity hand-to-hand combat. It represents a response to the chaotic nature of the Grimm, conflicts with which can frequently degenerate into melee at a moment's notice. Compared to the rifle and bayonet of late imperial times, both roles are intended to compliment the other, with the melee function not just being an ancillary weapon. The term "combined arm" was only coined and subsequently applied with the advance of mechanical engineering, as a recognition that both halves constitute weapons and that both are of equal importance in its function.

In the early years the arms' inventor was, in almost all circumstances, the one who developed and codified the weapon's use in fighting. Pupils either had their weapons created by the master or an individual or individuals under their leadership. Their widespread adoption, however, rose to prominence with the development of standardized parts and the assembly line, allowing mass production. Today there is a variety of mainstream fighting styles, supplied by major and minor weapon manufacturers, not entirely unlike various martial arts dojos teaching the more common arts of self-defense.


	5. Sundowner Shipping

"If you want to see the White Fang’s true colors, tell them that you don’t need the White Fang."

Such as it was with Skoll Sundowner. CEO of Sundowner Shipping, Skoll spent twenty-seven years of her life building a city courier service into a global import-export company, reaching over forty-five countries. As a faunus, she experienced discrimination first-hand and overcame it to rise to the esteemed position she holds today. She is a supporter of both human and faunus rights, and frequently donates to organizations such as the Rothberg Foundation. But, as history reminds us, she is no friend to the White Fang.

Shortly after its change in leadership, representatives of the White Fang met with Sundowner in person, expecting her to be sympathetic to her cause. Not five minutes into the meeting, Sundowner informed them that she refused to have anything to do with them and had them ushered out by security. Two days later, a Sundowner Shipping warehouse burned to the ground; in response, the CEO hired Crowe Military Solutions to track down those responsible and deal with them in whatever manner they saw fit.

Two weeks later, in the same city as the fire, one of the major safehouses of the White Fang was found ablaze. A formal investigation found evidence of a gas main rupture, but strangely enough, despite the speed at which the building was consumed, no bodies were found. The missing persons reports that came in days later went unconnected to the crime.

The White Fang doesn’t bother Sundowner Shipping much anymore.


	6. Aura and Semblances

There are Semblances, but Aura as it exists in the base RWBY universe is non-existent. The reason why protagonists are tougher than everyone else is because they're protagonists. It's action film logic, really. Nobody has a force field that takes hits until it runs out and they need to hide as it recharges because regenerating shields and health are mechanics for dumb babies who suck at video games and can't handle there being long-term consequences, and dumb babies who suck at making video games and can't handle resource management being a part of their game.

Certain writers have strong opinions about first-person shooters and their mechanics.

Semblances are, meanwhile, largely unchanged. It is possible for two people to have Semblances which do the same thing, but they'll do it in different ways, e.g. two people can heal people's wounds, but one does it by accelerating cellular growth and the other does it by reviving dead and dying cells, such that the Semblances themselves are different. Unlike in the base RWBY universe it is _theoretically_ possible for two people to have the same Semblance that works in the same way, but the odds of that happening and the two people being near each other is so low that having it happen in a story would be a plot contrivance of the highest order.

Using Semblances also requires them to be actively evoked, assuming that they aren't "passive" in nature. There aren't situations where a child hits a certain age and fire starts spraying uncontrollably from their hands, because nobody's favorite part of the Marvel universe is the constant rehashing of Mutant Registration Act discussion, even though it would be _completely_ justified to want to keep track of who has no control over powers which put people around them in constant danger.

Certain writers also have strong opinions about the law in comic book universes.


End file.
